Alexandros Papagos was born in Athens on 9 December 1883.
University of Athens, but soon switched to a military career.[4] In 1902 he entered the Brussels Military Academy and followed it up with studies at the Cavalry Application School at Ypres. He was commissioned as a cavalry second lieutenant in the Hellenic Army on 15 July 1906.[3] In 1911 he married Maria Kallinski,[4] the daughter of Lt. General Andreas Kallinskis-Roïdis
.
Promoted to lieutenant in 1911, Papagos participated in the
He was recalled to active service in 1920 following the
military revolt, he was once more dismissed from the army, but was recalled in 1926, with the rank of colonel.[3] In 1927 he was appointed as commander of the 1st Cavalry Division. Promoted to major general in 1930,[2] in 1931, he was named Deputy Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff.[3]
In 1933–35 he served as Inspector of Cavalry, followed by commands of the I and III Army Corps. He was promoted to Lt. General in 1935.
Restoration of the Monarchy and the Metaxas Regime
On 10 October 1935, along with the service chiefs of the Navy (Rear Admiral
Greek monarchy.[3] Papagos remained Minister of Military Affairs until Kondylis' resignation on 30 November,[5] and was re-appointed to the post in the succeeding Konstantinos Demertzis cabinet on 13 December 1935 until 5 March 1936.[6] On 5 March 1936 he was named Inspector-General of the Army, holding the post until 31 July. On the next day, 1 August, he was promoted to Chief of the Army General Staff.[3] From his position, he employed the Army to support Ioannis Metaxas' declaration of dictatorship on 4 August 1936.[7]
As head of the army and the palace's man, Papagos was a crucial figure in
Second World War
.
World War II
At the outbreak of the
Greco-Italian War on 28 October 1940, he became Commander-in-Chief of the Army, a post he retained until the capitulation of the Greek armed forces following the German invasion of Greece in April 1941.[3] Papagos directed Greek operations against Italy along the Greek-Albanian border. The Greek army, under his command, managed to halt the Italian advance by 8 November and forced them to withdraw deep into Albania between 18 November and 23 December. The successes of the Greek Army brought him fame and applause. A second Italian offensive between 9 and 16 March 1941 was repulsed. Despite this success, Papagos chose to maintain the bulk of the Greek Army in Albania, and was unwilling to order a gradual withdrawal to reinforce the north-eastern border (and a defense along the so-called Haliacmon line, considered to be more defensible) as German intervention came closer. After the German invasion on 6 April 1941, outnumbered Greek forces in Macedonia fiercely resisted the German offensive at the Metaxas Line
, but were outflanked by the enemy and so Papagos endorsed their surrender. Soon after, the Army of Epirus capitulated and by 23 April, the Greek government was forced to flee to Crete.
Occupation Years
Papagos also resigned from the army on 23 April but did not follow the King and his government into exile, remaining in
Papagos returned to Greece in May 1945.[8] In August 1945, he was appointed an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire by the British.[10][11][12][13] He remained retired and held no active military position, but served as grand chamberlain to King Paul and in July 1947 was promoted to the exceptionally rare rank of full general as a token of honour.[8]
In January 1949, he was once again appointed Commander-in-Chief in the ongoing
Hellenic Mountain Raider Companies of Special Forces (LOK), during the Grammos-Vitsi campaign
between February and October of that year.
The British officer
Greek Resistance and knew the country well, considered that his predecessor, Lt. General Dimitrios Giatzis, had "virtually won the war" before his dismissal, but that Papagos' appointment was beneficial because Papagos, through his seniority and prestige, "could impose his own plans and wishes on both the Greek high command and the allied military missions, which had been for some months at loggerheads with each other."[14] He further qualifies Papagos as a "superlative staff officer, impeccable in logistic planning and exact calculation, a master of the politics and diplomacy of war", but "with little experience of high command in battle", and a tendency to command from Athens, seldom even visiting the front lines. Papagos' aloof leadership style led to clashes with one of the most important subordinate commanders, the impetuous Lt. General Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos.[14]
As a reward for his services, he was awarded the title of
Field Marshal on 28 October 1949, the only Greek career officer to ever hold this rank.[3] He continued to serve in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief until 1951,[3]
while Greece was in a state of political instability, with splinter parties and weak politicians unable to provide a firm government.
Political career
In May 1951, Papagos resigned from the Army to enter politics. He founded the
and won the September elections with 36.53 percent of the vote. For a time, the Palace feared that he might establish a dictatorship, largely due to his popularity, his image as a strong and determined leader, and the communist defeat in the civil war, which was attributed in great part to his leadership.
Despite his victory, Papagos was unable to form a government on this majority, and had to wait until the
Constantine Karamanlis
, first distinguished himself) and restore the economy of a country ruined by 10 years of war, but was criticized by the opposition for doing little to restore social harmony in a country still scarred from the civil war.
In January 1955, Papagos began to develop gastric issues, a result of his imprisonment during World War II; he appointed Stefanos Stefanopoulos to serve as provisional premier during his illness. However, Papago's condition worsened, and he died of a lung hemorrhage on 4 October 1955.[15]
^British Official Wireless KING HONOURS GENERAL PAPAGOS LONDON, Tuesday. Quote: "Lieut-General Alexander Papagos Greek Commander in Chief has been honoured by King George, who has conferred on him an honorary G B E. General Papagos who is so brilliant executing the policy of the late Premier General Metaxas is about 55 and has been a soldier since his youth"
^Australian Newspapers Quote: "Lieut-General Alexander Papagos. Greek Commander in Chief has been honoured by King George, who has conferred on him an hononrary [sic] G.B.E.
Margaritis, Giorgos (2001). Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Εμφυλίου Πολέμου 1946-1949, Τόμος 2 [History of the Greek Civil War 1946–1949, Volume 2] (Second ed.). Athens: Vivliorama.
§ Substitute Chiefs of the General Staff for the Rear Areas/Interior (as opposed to the Field Staff) † Deputy Chiefs substituting during vacancies ‡ Under the title "Chief of the Army"